Augment your cardiovascular health with more plant proteins

A team of researchers from France and the U.S. has found that protein from meat is linked to a significant increase in the risk of heart disease, while plant proteins are good for the heart. The study, which was published in the International Journal of Epidemiology, aimed to examine the link between specific patterns of protein intake with cardiovascular death.

• The research team analyzed data of 81,337 men and women from the Adventist Health Study-2.
• The team evaluated the participants’ dietary patterns based on their protein consumption between 2002 and 2007 using a validated food frequency questionnaire.
• In this study, the researchers chose to specify meat protein and proteins from nuts and seeds along with other major dietary sources.
• The data showed that there were 2,260 deaths due to cardiovascular diseases during an average follow-up period of 9.4 years.
• The results showed that people who had a high consumption of meat protein had a 60 percent increase in cardiovascular disease risk.
• On the other hand, those who had a high intake of protein from nuts and seeds had a 40 percent decrease in cardiovascular disease risk.

With these findings, the research team suggests that healthy diets can be promoted based on protein sources, increasing protein intake from nuts and seeds and decreasing meat-based protein sources.

To read more studies on preventing heart disease with food, visit HeartDisease.news.

Journal Reference:

Tharrey M, Mariotti F, Mashchak A, Barbillon P, Delattre M, Fraser GE. PATTERNS OF PLANT AND ANIMAL PROTEIN INTAKE ARE STRONGLY ASSOCIATED WITH CARDIOVASCULAR MORTALITY: THE ADVENTIST HEALTH STUDY-2 COHORT. International Journal of Epidemiology. 1 October 2018; 47(5). DOI: 10.1093/ije/dyy030